


comfort

by borntomakehistory



Series: Amortentia [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Amortentia, Angst and Feels, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendzone, Love Triangles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 03:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8952292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borntomakehistory/pseuds/borntomakehistory
Summary: Lucrezia Riddle on the other side of his door at twenty-one o’clock was unexpected, but Abraxas had learned to keep his emotions to himself as the next head of House Malfoy. The young woman smiled lopsidedly, gray eyes misting over, face all red and blotchy. “What a surprise,” he drawled, raising one white-blond eyebrow, cynicism lacing his tone, but he stepped aside for her anyway. “What are you doing here, Mrs. Riddle? Shouldn’t you be in your husband’s arms right now?”





	

Lucrezia Riddle on the other side of his door at twenty-one o’clock was unexpected, but Abraxas had learned to keep his emotions to himself as the next head of House Malfoy. The young woman smiled lopsidedly, gray eyes misting over, face all red and blotchy. To him, she was still beautiful even at this state, but he couldn’t tell her that. He was nothing to her right now. Only a mere friend to her and her husband.

“What a surprise,” he drawled, raising one white-blond eyebrow, cynicism lacing his tone, but he stepped aside for her anyway. “What are you doing here, Mrs. Riddle? Shouldn’t you be in your husband’s arms right now?”

Abraxas didn’t miss the reaction Lucrezia had upon hearing the mere mention of “husband.” She looked conflicted—afraid, even. He felt bad for her, but he wasn’t going to go around messing about with his Lord’s wife. He… he was more respectable than that. 

“It’s cold here,” she said shakily, gray eyes darting nervously around the manor. Her behavior was suspicious, to say the least. He raised one white-blond brow, making sure that Lucrezia knew that he didn’t believe her one bit.

Lucrezia shook her head, a small sigh escaping her lips, defeated. He couldn’t help but notice her shaky hands and swollen eyes. She normally looked pristine and elegant _and beautiful,_ but right now, she looked like a mess. A beautiful mess, but still a mess. He _could_ pass it off because the weather, but the tears pooling in her eyes told him that it wasn’t about the weather at all. “Alright. Fine. We… we had a misunderstanding,” she said slowly, “May I go in?” 

He sighed irritably, opening the door wider. Really, why did he have to open the door for her? Why couldn’t he just call one of the house elves to do so? “Alright,” he grumbled, stepping aside to let her in, “but I expect you to tell me everything. _Don’t leave out any details._ Your husband might go here to ask around for you sometime later. Don’t expect me to lie to him.”

It was hard to believe that this was the woman who was supposed to be his betrothed. This… nervous wreck standing in front of him. The nervous wringing of her hands and the shaky breathing told him that this wasn’t just a misunderstanding between her and her husband, but he didn’t want to pry before she’s ready to spill. 

“Thank you, Abraxas,” she whispered, moving forward to give him a brief hug. “You’re the best. Any girl would be lucky to marry you.” He stumbled back, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her to give her an awkward pat on the back before gently pushing her away.

One time it had been her who was supposed to marry him. His mother has offered Black scions, and, heavens forbid, Greengrass scions for him to marry and keep the Malfoy line pure but they can’t seem to replace the empty hole Lucrezia Slughorn had made in his heart after she decided to elope with Tom Marvolo Riddle in their seventh year. Their betrothal was supposed to be purely political, but the woman had forced her way into his heart even without meaning it. Oh how funny life was. 

Abraxas led her to the living room, waiting for her to sit down before he could. She sat on the loveseat, subconsciously grabbing one of the throw pillows behind her and hugging it close to her chest. He took a seat on the other side of the sofa, glancing at her cautiously. Lucrezia looked like she was about to break down, but she was quiet.

The grandfather clock in the room ticked incessantly, breaking the silence between them in steady tick tocks, but both of them paid it no heed as they waited for the other to speak.

It was Lucrezia who spoke first. “Tom wants a child,” she murmured softly, her voice low and quiet, muffled by the pillow she held closely to her. “I told him I’m not ready for it, but he got angry and called me names.” 

She sniffled quietly, bringing her head down to press her face on the pillow. “He accused me of being infertile,” she said shakily, “and if I weren’t, he said I’ll most probably produce squibs anyway! I… It’s not like I don’t want to have children with Tom—I-I really do, I guess, but… I don’t know… I just… I didn’t feel like having children…? I love kids, but somehow I feel… like I’m not ready? It’s weird because I’ve always wanted to have kids! Is there something wrong with me?” She sighed deeply. “I know you hate listening to drama, but I trust you. You’re kind of my best friend, you know?”

Her lips curled into an embarrassed smile, but the adoration for him was there. Abraxas rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the flaring of his cheeks and the butterflies in his stomach and the smile that threatened to form on his lips. Leave it to Lucrezia Riddle to make him feel like a teenage schoolgirl with a crush. 

Abraxas scooted over to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her against his chest. He convinced himself that this was purely platonic, and that he didn’t feel any sort of warmth in his heart. _You’re like a brother to her, Abraxas._ He told himself, ignoring the fuzzy feeling settling in his heart. _You’re just comforting her._ “You’re both still young, Lucrezia. I’d be pretty surprised if you _did_ have a kid this early.”

“Most pureblood families have kids early,” she said quietly, shifting in her seat, leaning a little bit closer to him. Abraxas flushed. “My mother had me almost eleven months after her wedding with my father. My brother followed thirteen months after I was born…” 

He rolled his eyes, poking her square in the forehead. Really, this woman. Lucrezia snapped her head at up him, eyes wide in surprise, her hands dropping the throw pillow to cover her forehead. “What the heck was that!?”

“Your parents married slightly later in life,” he asserted. “Your father was what? 38 years old when he married your mother? Your mother who was 34? Listen, Lucrezia, the point is that you’re both still young! You’re only 21. You have a lot of things going for you.” 

Abraxas let his gaze fall to her eyes, looking at her straight on. Lucrezia squirmed, slightly uncomfortable, under his gaze, but she kept her eyes trained on him either way. He cupped her face with his hands, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. Her eyes widened at the action, but Abraxas knew she didn’t mind it at all because she leaned in to his touch. He fought back the urge to grin. Merlin, he felt like a giddy teenager.

For a moment, he wanted to damn Tom Riddle to hell if he wasn’t already. He didn’t want to admit it, but he hated how it only took _a single night_ for his Lord to swoop in and steal his betrothed right under his very nose. It took him years to make Lucrezia see him as her friend, yet it took Riddle _a. single. night._ for her to see him as a lover? _What foul play was at hand here?_

 _Lucrezia was supposed to be his!_ He thought to himself, somehow acknowledging the seed of distress but he shook his head lightly to rid himself of these feelings. He… he didn’t want to take advantage of her. He had more dignity than that. 

“Don’t mind him, Lucrezia,” he whispered, “Remember that you could always deny him if he’s too much for you. He’s your husband, not your father. He shouldn’t demand you of such…” His eyes fell to her lips. He wanted to kiss her right now, to take her as his, but… no. He respected her. He respected her too much that he didn’t want to tarnish her with his faults. Oh how she tempted him with her beauty—not much purebloods could pride themselves with good-looks. Generations of inbreeding tend to muck up with genetics, yet Lucrezia Riddle… she was as beautiful as any woman can be. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lucrezia breathed out, eyes half-lidded. The tears had dried up, but her eyes remained red and slightly puffy. Abraxas curtly pulled away from her before he could do anything… _sinful_ to her. Lucrezia jumped in her seat, her cheeks flaring. Her hold on the throw pillow was tight, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her eyes shifted its gaze back to the pillow, the tips of her ears red.

Abraxas can hear his heart thumping loudly in his chest, his face warmer than usual. Oh dear Lord, what had he done?

The silence that befell upon them was unbearable. It was probably fifteen minutes before either of them spoke. _Fifteen minutes of bloody awkwardness, _he thought to himself irritably.__

__“Thank you, Abraxas,” Lucrezia murmured, “You always have this… I don’t know… power to calm me down, I guess? I can’t bear to think that I might have to share you with another lady soon.” She lifted her head now, a cheeky grin on her face. His heart skipped a beat. _Merlin, she’s so beautiful when she smiles…_ “I hope I remain the only lady with the right to be comforted by you.”_ _

__Abraxas chuckled, more of an excuse to distract himself from his attraction towards her than anything else. “Don’t worry about it, Lucrezia,” he smirked. “I’ll make sure you’re the only one.”_ _

__She smiled at him sweetly. “I’ll remember that,” she said, “Maybe when I get a good night’s rest though!” Lucrezia threw the pillow at his face, standing up. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but he could feel the force behind it either way. “I’ll be in your room! You can sleep on the couch.” She turned into a corner and sped away._ _

__He sighed to himself, letting a fond smile settle on his face as he set the pillow next to him. He knew Tom Riddle would go over later tonight to ask for his wife, but for now, he wanted to bask in the exclusivity of her presence in his manor._ _

__Because he knew that by tomorrow morning, they’ll be back to the loving couple they usually are, as if nothing had happened._ _

__It was always like that._ _

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY i was overwhelmed with feels for a certain abraxas malfoy for no apparent reason at all, so i decided to write a piece about him. ahhhh so anyway i decided that "amortentia" would be a series of one-shots about lucrezia, tom and abraxas, and it will literally have NO order or whatsoever but there's gonna be an "official" timeline of sorts so it connects the one-shots together. 
> 
> enjoy!!


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